


Pilot - Fredbear's Family Diner

by monarchofrymden



Series: The Self-Indulgent Queer FNAF AU [1]
Category: Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Trans, Charlotte "Charlie" Emily is Alive, Falling In Love, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Love Confessions, M/M, Trans William Afton | Dave Miller, William Doesn't Bind Safely, and she's not a robot either, he's trans because i said so and i'm projecting, it happened in the past but still, monarchfnafau, really kids don't be like William
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:01:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24397705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monarchofrymden/pseuds/monarchofrymden
Summary: Single dad Henry Emily and abuse escapee William Afton bond over their shared love for engineering after a chance meeting before the rain. As Henry spends more time with William, he finds himself catching feelings, with no idea William feels the same. Together, they open Fredbear's Family Diner, in the hope of bringing smiles to the faces of children.But there are things William is scared to talk about, scared to admit. His past is one he'd rather forget and for good reason.
Relationships: Charlotte "Charlie" Emily & Henry Emily, William Afton | Dave Miller & Charlotte "Charlie" Emily, William Afton | Dave Miller/Henry Emily
Series: The Self-Indulgent Queer FNAF AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1790170
Comments: 9
Kudos: 78
Collections: Monarch of Rymden's Self Indulgent Queer FNAF AU





	Pilot - Fredbear's Family Diner

**Author's Note:**

> and they were engineering buddies  
> oh my god they were engineering buddies
> 
> also before you read this, keep in mind that I am a queer trans man writing this

Overhead, dark clouds filled the sky, raindrops ready to fall at a moment’s notice. A man lay in the grass, dry leaves tangled into his hair and clinging to his shirt. He stared up at the sky in wait. It had been a while since it had rained there.  
A crunch on a gravel path caught his attention, approaching footsteps. He didn’t want to look over, eyes fixed on the sky, willing the rain to come sooner.  
“Hey?” The person was talking to him, so he looked over to see a blond man in a chunky golden sweater looking down at him from the path. “You know it’s about to rain, right?”  
“I’m aware.” He winced at the sound of his own horribly squeaky voice and coughed to clear his throat. “That’s actually what I’m waiting for.”  
“You’ll catch a cold.”  
“I’m not that bothered.”  
The blond man left the path and walked across the grass and dry leaves to him. “What’s a young man like you doing waiting for the rain?”  
He sat up and shrugged. “I’ve nothing else to do.”  
“Well that doesn’t sound right.” The man crouched down to be at his level, so he scanned his face, examined his features. Fine, fluffy blond hair, golden eyes framed by rectangular glasses, and a roundness to him like he was a toy bear with extra stuffing…  
“You look familiar.”  
“Must be one of those faces.” He smiled.  
“No, I mean… I’ve seen you before.”  
“Where?”  
“Did you do robotics at the college near here?”  
“Oh, yeah. I did actually.”  
“We were in the same class. You’re Henry, aren’t you?”  
“Yeah, that’s me.” Henry scratched the back of his neck. “I don’t remember any of my classmates though.”  
“You were always so focused on your work, like you thought you were alone in the room.”  
“Hey now,” he chuckled. “Who are you then?”  
“Well, I-” He hesitated. His name was not something he'd gotten the chance to say before. “I'm William. William Afton.”  
“That’s a good name, William. I’ll try to remember that.”  
“You better,” William joked. It felt great to say his name to someone, and be called it.  
“So, you got any skill left from college?”  
“I’d like to think so, but I’m a bit out of practice.”  
Henry retrieved a notebook and pen from a pocket in his jeans. “Maybe you could come round to my workshop sometime, get back into practice.”  
He held out a note with his address on, which William took nervously.  
“That sounds fun, maybe I will.”  
“I’ll see you there, William.” With that, Henry stood up and started to walk away. “Try not to get caught in this rain.”  
“See you there, Henry.”  
Smiling, he held the note to his chest. Once Henry was out of sight, he got to his feet and brushed off all the leaves. He wasn’t going to be caught by the rain if he had somewhere to be. He walked in the opposite direction, towards his cheap motel room near the edge of town.

Part of him wanted to run, standing on the pavement outside the address Henry had given him. It looked more like a house than a workshop; a large and old family house hidden from the neighbours by a wall of trees. Before he could run, Henry had spotted him from the front door.  
“You’re allowed to come in, Will, that’s why I gave you my address. I’ll put the kettle on.”  
William made his way in, following Henry through the house to the kitchen. Lining the walls of the hall were various frames, most of which contained blueprints and sketches of robotic forms. The odd frame contained an actual photo of Henry with a small child with brown hair. One frame contained a photo with the right half torn out, as if someone who was once there had gone. William didn’t ask about it.  
The kitchen was spacious, more than large enough for a family, but looking around Will could only see Henry and the small child from the photographs, who was stacking some cogs into a tower.  
“Don’t mind her, she’s working.” Henry reached up into a cupboard for some mugs. “Tea or coffee?”  
“Do you have any herbal tea?”  
“Yes, uhh…” He opened another cupboard. “Chamomile?”  
“Perfect.”  
“Covvey time,” chimed the child, who waddled over to Henry’s side.  
“You can’t have coffee, Charlie, you’re two.” He picked her up and set her in a kid’s chair.  
“Mihlk then. Mihlk.”  
“Yes,” said Henry, getting a sippy cup from the cupboard, “you can have milk.”  
“Not bad for a two year old.” William smiled. “She’s got a few words in her.”  
“Lots of words.” Charlie grinned.  
“Yeah, I do my best,” said Henry as he prepped the brews and poured milk into the sippy cup, “children change your life when you have them.”  
“Yeah,” William mumbled, “I know.”  
“You have kids?”  
“I- Yeah, two. My youngest is the same age as your Charlie.”  
“Ooh, maybe they could be friends.” He set the cup of milk in front of Charlie.  
“Not likely.” William looked down. “I haven’t seen them in a year, they’re still with my ex.”  
“Oh, I… I’m sorry.” He poured hot water into the mugs. “Is that _why_ you were waiting for the rain yesterday?”  
“Pretty much. I left a year ago yesterday.” There was a pause, in which William set his head on the counter. “It’s been hard on my own.”  
“Well, you don’t have to be alone.” Henry placed the chamomile tea in front of Will.  
“Thanks,” he mumbled, sitting back up. The tea made him smile. “So, uh, do you have anyone?”  
“Nah, it’s just me and Charlie. We divorced 7 months ago, she’d had enough of my inventions. I’m the one with the house and money, so I got to keep this bundle of joy.” He ruffled Charlie’s hair. “What were you fed up of then?”  
William froze, his tea caught in his throat. Chest feeling tight, he set the mug down and coughed. “I… I’d rather not talk about it.” He folded his arms up against his chest. “I’d rather not think about it.”  
“Oh. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”  
“Don’t worry about it. You’d just explained yours, it was bound to be asked.” Elbows on the counter, he put his head in his hands.  
“Daddy, can we go workshop now?” Charlie asked, having finished her milk.  
“Maybe now’s not the best time-”  
“No, that’s a brilliant idea.” William sat up straight and forced a smile. “That is why I came round, after all. You said you had a workshop.”  
“Fair point.” He lifted Charlie from her chair and led the way through the house to what would have been the garage. Instead of a car, there were various tools and robotic parts scattered around the walls and desks and on the floor. Some bits looked like arms and jaws and even an eye.  
“You do a lot of work then?” William smiled.  
“Making small mechanical things is how I get my income. I have a lot of personal projects though.” He picked up the metal frame for a small doll. “This will be for Charlie once it’s done.”  
“Awe, that’s sweet.”  
“Well, feel free to mess with whatever you want.”  
“I’ll do just that.” He looked around the room again, a sparkle in his eyes he hadn't had for a long while, and decided he would definitely like it here.

William found himself visiting a couple times a week. After about a month, Henry had finished the doll, which had been given a purple velvet skin and the face of a bunny rabbit. It was able to open its mouth and play a recording of Henry saying “I love you, Charlie.” She was enamoured with the thing, walking around with it by her side.  
“You’ve done brilliant with that, you know.” William praised as Charlie set it down and started chatting to it.  
“It’s all to make her smile. Its name is Theodore,” Henry said over a cup of coffee. “You know, she likes you William.”  
“Does she now?” William sipped at his herbal tea. There’d been a lot more options appearing in the cupboard, as if Henry had bought more just for him. Today’s tea was strawberry.  
“I mean, why wouldn’t she? What’s there not to like about you?”  
William glanced his way with a raised eyebrow and Henry looked away as if realising he’d said that out loud.  
“Really though, she does like you. She even asked for Theodore to be purple ‘cause it’s the colour you always wear.”  
“She did? Wow, I’m honoured.”  
“You’re the cool purple guy,” Charlie giggled, “now Theo’s purple too!”  
“You call me purple guy?”  
“She can’t say William, and you’re always wearing a purple shirt.”  
“It’s kind of the only shirt I own.”  
“You only own one shirt?”  
“It's… It's the only shirt I took with me when I left. I couldn't take much with me.”  
“That sucks.”  
“It does, I don't have much of my belongings, or money, or anything really.”  
“Where are you even staying?”  
“Cheap motel on the edge of town. Rent’s not too bad, but I don’t think the landlord likes me.”  
“William, that’s-”  
“He should stay ‘ere,” Charlie interrupted. They both looked at her.  
“What?”  
“Can he? Daddy, can purple guy stay ‘ere?”  
“I can’t make him stay if he, uh, well...”  
“I wouldn’t want to intrude.”  
“I mean, this is a large and empty house. You wouldn’t be in the way.”  
“Well, I’d need to think about it.” William scratched the back of his neck.  
“Must be better than your motel.”  
Charlie stared up at him with wide golden eyes. “Please stay, purple guy.”  
He couldn’t help but laugh. “How can I resist a look like that?”

“Have you seriously been walking across most of the town to get to my place all this time?” Henry had been driving for half an hour when they pulled up in the motel car park.  
“It helps clear my mind.” He opened the car door before it had come to a full stop and almost tumbled out. “Besides, it’s good exercise.”  
“It’s nearly an hour to walk.” He turned off the engine, but stayed in the car to watch Charlie in her child seat.  
All of William’s stuff fit in a cardboard box. It’d taken him less than 10 minutes to get it all together and then tell the landlord he was leaving.  
“I am going to miss the walk though.” He smiled and placed the box on the back seat next to Charlie.  
Henry shook his head and sighed as William got back into the passenger seat. With everyone’s seatbelts on, Henry pulled the car out of the parking lot and drove back toward town. He glanced back to Charlie and frowned at the box.  
“You really don’t have much, huh?”  
“Like I said, couldn’t take much with me.”  
“Maybe we should get you some more clothes.”  
“I don’t have any money.”  
“Consider it my treat. I'll get you whatever you want.” Henry turned a corner onto another road. “Maybe we should go now, if that's alright?”  
“I'm flattered.” He stared out the window for a moment before turning back to face Henry. "Yeah, thank you. Thank you so much.”  
It wasn’t long before they reached the town centre. For a while they just drove slow, until William spotted something and called for them to stop outside a thrift shop. Excited, William made his way into the shop and over to what he’d spotted: a bright purple short sleeve shirt with a dyed pattern of fish that were seemingly on the fabric at random. With Charlie in his arms, Henry followed.  
“Looking out for shirts then?”  
“They have to be purple.” He smiled at Charlie and gave her nose a boop. "Wouldn't want to disappoint you."  
Charlie laughed and so did they. Another person in the store gave them a look, which made William feel uneasy. Henry glared at them before returning his attention to William and shopping. Almost all the things William picked up were shirts in various shades of purple, along with a few pairs of grey-blue jeans and a pair of leather steel toe caps that were only priced at $10. Together, they walked about the town centre for a while, picking up a couple pairs of trainers, and some more metal scraps to work with. Charlie was getting tired, so they returned to the car and made their way home.  
“I really can’t thank you enough, Henry. You’re a lifesaver.”  
“Hey, don’t worry about it. It’s what friends are for.”  
“No, really. I only have enough money for another couple weeks’ rent at the motel. I don’t know where I’d be without you right now.”  
“William, I… A lot of people in this town think I’m strange, with my inventions. For once, I’ve actually got a friend. I’d be alone without you.”  
“You’d still have Charlie.”  
“Yeah.” He looked into the rear view mirror to see her in her child seat. She smiled and stuck her tongue out. “But she wouldn’t have you. She really does like you.”  
“I’m surprised she does.” William leaned round to look at Charlie and pulled a funny face to make her laugh. She babbled and clapped her hands.  
“See? She thinks you’re great.”  
Henry pulled the car up in the driveway of his house and as he lifted Charlie out of her seat, William gathered his box and shopping bags and carried them to the door. With the car closed and locked, Henry came over to the front door and let them in.  
“Maybe I’ll have to get you a key cut.”  
“It’s not like I’ll be going anywhere other than the workshop,” he joked, “So, which room will be mine?”

No longer wasting so much energy walking across town, William was able to work a lot more in Henry’s- in their workshop. Together they finished the frame for an almost human sized robot. Charlie had insisted on giving it a hat, so balanced on top of its head was a felt top hat William had quickly put together.  
He smiled up at their creation. “Maybe this thing could do with a skin.”  
“Yeah,” Henry agreed, “it’s a bit bare-”  
“A bear!” Charlie jumped up. “A bear, a bear!”  
Henry and William exchanged a look. “A bear?”  
“Yes,” Charlie cheered, “a gold bear!”  
“Ooh, a golden bear.”  
Once finished, a skin of yellow velvet stuck over a plastic shell vaguely resembling a bear, Charlie cheered and applauded the creation. As a last detail, William had added a purple bow tie and some buttons down its front.  
“She seems really taken with your work, Henry.”  
“It’s our work,” he corrected, going to wrap an arm around William’s shoulders. He flinched at the touch. Noticing, Henry moved his arm away. “Sorry.”  
“Don’t worry about it.” He looked away and rubbed his arm, before looking back at the bear. to not ask.  
“I wonder if other children would like it as much as she does.”  
“Now that would be something, another person liking my creations.”  
“Well, I like them.”  
“You helped make them.”  
“I know, but… What if they were something more? We could bring joy to the youth!” He hopped forward and danced around the golden bear.  
“Joy to the youth?”  
“I don’t know, some sort of entertainment. Maybe with food too.” He swinged round the thing and leaned forward, hanging onto its shoulder for support.  
“Like some sort of diner? You sure kids would like that?”  
“A family diner, and it can be named after this bear.”  
“The bear needs a name first, William.”  
He stopped at that and stared into the distance. “A name…”

A couple months on and they stood together in front of a small building with a sign William had painted himself: Fredbear’s Family Diner. It was their grand opening and to their delight it was a popular attraction for little kids and their families. Charlie giggled in Henry’s arms.  
“I told you they’d love it,” William smiled.  
“This was a brilliant idea.”  
“Yeah. I’ll be working on my own suit to join yours on the stage soon enough.”  
“What are you thinking it’ll be?”  
“A golden bunny. What else would it be?”

Their business venture had only been open for a few weeks, yet was already popular for local families. As the robots themselves used up a _lot_ of electricity, William and Henry had taken to wearing the suits and performing in them. William had made a lot of modifications to allow them to do so _without the robotic endoskeletons impaling them_ , but that extra time and effort was worth it. Children loved them. Henry wore Fredbear, the golden bear for which the diner was named, while William wore the golden rabbit he called Spring Bonnie, after the spring locks designed to hold the endoskeleton back. After a long day, they removed their suits in a room behind the stage, where Charlie had been waiting with her crayons and paper, drawing artwork for the walls. With all the customers gone and the place locked up, they returned home. Charlie was tired so Henry put her in bed, letting him and William relax for the evening. The couch was comfortable and William sank into it, a mug of chamomile tea in one hand. Henry didn’t relax, instead perched on the edge of the couch cushion staring into the distance.  
“Something on your mind?” William leaned forward.  
“Yeah, something.”  
“Want to talk about it? I’m all ears.” He mimed his bunny ears with his hands.  
Henry chuckled. “I don’t know how to say it.”  
“We have a lot of time and plenty of words.” He took a sip of his tea. “Maybe I could fetch a dictionary.”  
William’s little jokes always made him smile. Henry looked over to William, then looked away to hide his face. “Say there was someone you met, and you got along really well and worked well together. Then say there was something you wanted to tell them, but couldn’t.”  
“Maybe I could pass on the message,” William offered.  
Henry couldn’t help but laugh. “If only it were that easy.”  
“Well, maybe start with who the message is for,” he suggested. Henry turned to look him in the eyes. “Oh. _Oh…_ The message is for me?”  
“Yes, William. The message is for you.”  
“Well you might as well tell me now.”  
“I, uh, it’s not that easy. I don’t want to make things awkward, or ruin our friendship, or-”  
“Henry, you’re pretty much my only friend. You can’t chase me away.”  
“Well, I,” he stammered, “there’s something about you and I just, I, uh…”  
“I hope it’s not something bad.”  
“How could there be anything bad about you?”  
William glanced around, took another sip of his tea. “Henry.” His breath caught in his throat. “That’s sweet of you.” He wasn’t blushing. No. Not at all.  
“There’s, ah, there is something that I just can’t stop thinking about, and I… I can’t stop thinking about you. Nobody else cared about my contraptions before you came along. Nobody showed an interest. You actually cared, you didn’t run away, you even helped me build things and we’ve made so much together.”  
William stared at Henry, eyes fixed on his. He could see the sparkle in them.  
“That- I think that sparked something in me, William, sparked something for you.”  
It was only when he went to place his mug down on the coffee table that William noticed his hands shaking. He stared back at Henry, into his golden eyes. “Can I say something too?”  
“Uh, of course, go ahead.”  
“These last few months have been the best of my life. You are the only person that’s paid me any notice since I, well, you know… And I, well you, uh…” His chest felt tight; he couldn’t tell if it was the emotions or the duct tape wrapped around it he’d carelessly left on for the past month. “You’re the first person that’s made me feel cared for in a long time, Henry. I probably wouldn’t be alive right now if it wasn’t for you.”  
Despite willing himself not to cry, William could see the tears blurring his peripheral vision. Henry held out his hand, offering it to William, a soft smile on his face. Still shaking, he placed his hand in Henry's and gave a gentle squeeze. Henry squeezed his hand in return. They sat like that for a moment before William's nerves got the better of him.  
“I- I need some air.”  
He stood up and moved to leave the room, not breaking the handhold until the last moment. Out the back door, into the garden, hidden away from the rest of the street by trees. He gulped in the cold evening air, letting it chill him. His heart was racing and he was all too aware of the strain on his chest. He couldn't breathe. The tears he’d tried to hold back trickled down his face. He leaned against the wall, panting.  
“Was that a bit much?” Henry broke the silence, standing in the doorway. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”  
“No, it’s not that. I just- I didn’t expect that.” His forced laugh was quiet and broken, giving away his lack of breath.  
“Would you rather I left you be?”  
“I'm gonna… I'll go back to my room.” He walked past Henry in the doorway, a slight brush of fingers sending a jolt of emotion to his heart. Up the stairs, past Henry and Charlie's room and into his own. He locked the door behind him and went over to his dresser. His shirt unbuttoned, he picked up a pair of scissors and snipped through the duct tape wrapped tight around his chest. The last snip broke the tight wrap and he breathed deep, his lungs finally allowed to relax. This calm only lasted a few seconds, before that horrible feeling returned to him. He carelessly tore the rest of the duct tape off and threw it to the side, before rebuttoning his shirt to hide his chest. Having exhausted himself with emotions and dysphoria, he crawled under his covers, curled up, and cried himself to sleep.

In the morning, he awoke to hear Henry knocking on his bedroom door. Morning light, filtered by the trees, shone into his room as a dappled square of gold on the floor. He groaned and sat up, all too aware of the pain in his ribs and lungs.  
“Hey William, I'm about to make breakfast. I hope you like pancakes.”  
He loved pancakes, but was in no hurry to get up. He'd slept in his clothes, and after spotting the discarded shell of duct tape he recalled the events of last night. They'd actually said that, hadn't they? He hadn't just dreamed that? He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, walked over to the door, hesitated at the handle.  
“Henry?”  
“Yes, William?”  
“I didn't dream up that conversation last night, did I?”  
“I sure hope we didn’t dream that.”  
They both laughed, nervous. William leaned his head against the door.  
“You said something had sparked for me.”  
“You said you’d be dead without me.”  
“Yeah, I did, didn’t I…” He breathed slowly, trying to settle his nerves with not much success. “Henry, if we- uh, well… If we're going to do this, there's something else I need to tell you.”  
“I'd hope you could tell me anything.”  
William opened the door. It was obvious he'd slept in his clothes, his hair was a mess, his face still stained by last night's tears, and there was the obvious discrepancy of his chest, no longer bound in duct tape.  
“Will, did you sleep in your clothes?”  
“Yeah, I did.” He made an attempt to pull his shirt tighter around him, arms covering his chest. “It hurts to look at. I try to hide it, but just end up hurting my lungs and ribs.”  
“Try to hide what?”  
“I wrap myself in duct tape.”  
“That sounds dangerous.”  
“I’m aware of that. I leave it on for days, weeks sometimes. I once cracked a rib cause I'd pulled it too tight.”  
“Bloody hell, William. Is what you’re hiding really worth hurting yourself like that?”  
“I'm hiding myself, Henry, my past.” He lowered his arms. “I didn’t always get to be me, to be William Afton, that's why you don't remember me. Back then, in college, I was ■■■■. ■■■■ Afton, the blonde girl sat to your left in class.”  
“What? I…” Henry was staring, which scared Will. “You're not her, you're nothing like her.”  
“I sure hope not.” That sounded defensive. “I don't want to be her, I never wanted to be her. Didn't think I even had a choice.”  
“Until you walked out?”  
“Until I walked out.” This conversation was draining him, so he leaned against the door.  
“William, you said you had kids. Do they know?”  
“My eldest is 5 this year, and my youngest the same age as your Charlie.” He sighed. “They wouldn't understand.”  
“You could tell them-”  
“No!” He froze up, then shook his head. “No. I can never go back there, he'll just hurt me again.”  
“You mean your old partner?”  
“You probably don't remember him, he studied literature.”  
“Wait, she was with Chris, right? Christopher Schmidt?”  
It occurred to William that Henry was talking about _her_ as if she was a completely different person, not at all related to William. It was somewhat reassuring, but the realisation was ruined by the sound of _his_ name.  
“Please don't say his name. Please.” He was crying again.  
“Sorry, I shouldn't have. I'm sorry.”  
“You didn't know. Just don't say it again.”  
“I won't. I'm sorry William. I shouldn't have brought him up.”  
William wiped his face of tears. Henry reached forward to comfort him, but hesitated, knowing William wasn't fond of contact. To his surprise, William stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Henry, now crying into his shoulder.  
“It hurts to think about back then, about… About who I had to be.”  
“You're who you are now, William, and she's dead.” Henry tried to be reassuring. “She died the moment you decided to pack your box and walk away.”  
“But I feel lost, Henry.” He looked up from the other's shoulder. “Sometimes I doubt who I am.”  
“You're William Afton,” Henry declared, “and, well, on what we said last night…”  
“What we said last night,” William echoed.  
“If you'll have me, then you can be my boyfriend.”  
“Are you serious? You mean that? Me?”  
“You're still the man I'm falling for.”  
“Henry, I…” He looked away, blushing. Tears were brimming in his eyes again but he didn’t mind. “That would be nice. Yeah...”  
“Yeah.” Henry hugged William tight, felt him relax in his arms. “Now, how about those pancakes?”

**Author's Note:**

> seriously don't bind like William you will do serious damage
> 
> if you want to see artwork and more rare pair content, consider joining the AU discord server  
> https://discord.gg/8NK4wgD


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